Moving On
by Chounette
Summary: [SPD] He liked these guys. It really was the situation, not the people, that was making him leave. [One shot]


**Title:** Moving On  
**Author:** Marie  
**Character:** Jack Landors  
**Rating:** G  
**Word Count:** 1,099   
**Disclaimer:** _Power Rangers SPD_ belongs to Disney. I only own the plot.  
**Notes:** Yet another _Endings_-centered fic. Whatever, I like using the season finale as a starting point for fic. Deal with it.  
**Spoilers:** _Endings_, parts I and II.  
**Warning:** Implied one-sided slash.  
**Prompt:** "He wondered if any of his teammates were listening to him anymore. He was even beginning to wonder if any of them had ever cared.", given to me by kikos ai.  
**Summary:** He liked these guys. It really was the situation, not the people, that was making him leave.

* * *

_It has come to my attention that you'll be leaving SPD._

To say that Jack was surprised that Commander Cruger had read his mind was an understatement. But then again, the big blue dog always seemed to know what was up with his cadets. It was to wonder if he didn't have any way of spying on them...

_Hey, I didn't say anything._

True, he hadn't. Not to Cruger, not to Z, not to anyone. He had been thinking of moving onto other things for a while, even before he met Ally, but he felt he had an obligation to SPD and wasn't going to take action until that war with Gruumm was over. Assuming he was going to get through it alive, of course, because right now he seemed very much stranded on that ship.

Jack snuck a glance at his teammates. None of them seemed to have overheard the exchange between himself and the Commander: Sky was pacing, Bridge was rambling and the girls looked _very_ annoyed.

He liked these guys. It really was the situation, not the people, that was making him leave.

Z, he had known for years; she was like his sister, and he knew his leaving would break her heart – but she would get over it fast enough. It wasn't like he planned to get as away from SPD as possible; it just wasn't his place. He just hoped she wouldn't try to follow him; he knew how much she loved it there.

Sky. He would never admit it, but Jack would miss the fights and the arguments and the banter. The Blue Ranger challenged him; Jack liked that. With Jack leaving, Commander Cruger would probably promote Sky to the rank of Red Ranger; that would be his parting gift.

Syd. That ball of energy frightened him sometimes. There was way too much energy in such a tiny thing. At one point, Jack thought she had a thing for him, but it became obvious that underneath it all, she was smitten with Z (oh, how his 'sister' was oblivious to it all!). Syd, just like Z, was just like the sister he never had. He knew she could take care of herself, but Jack made a mental note to keep an eye on her even after he was gone.

Bridge. Jack would never admit it aloud, but he had gotten attached to the rambling, klutzy, naive Green Ranger. Sure, yeah, he was sometimes annoying, but you had to admit, the guy was funny. Every time Jack thought he had him figured out, Bridge would come up with something that took him completely off guard.

Oh, scratch that – it _was_ because of the people that he was leaving. It wasn't just being at SPD – he was getting paid, had a roof over his head, got three regular meals every day and free days every once in a while. He could suck it up and stay a while longer.

No, the problem was... he had gotten a _little_ too attached to the rambling, klutzy, naive Green Ranger. Jack had never stopped to wonder about his sexuality – he liked someone, the gender didn't matter, period.

He had a feeling the folks at SPD didn't think the same way, though, and figured it was best for him to leave before he couldn't resist anymore and dragged Bridge a dark corner – or, even better, found new creative ways to keep his teammate pinned to the floor for a while after knocking him down during a sparring session.

Jack snorted inwardly. Z had caught him staring a little too intently at Bridge a few times and probably suspected anything, but the others seemed very oblivious to it all. Good – that meant he wasn't being obvious. Although, it amused him deeply that for a psychic, Bridge hadn't picked up on anything. Or maybe he did, but just didn't-

Jack shook his head and, forgetting what Commander Cruger had told him earlier, tried phasing through the bars on the door to their cell, only to get burned again.

Yeah. This whole thing sucked.

* * *

They did make it out of there alive, and not only that, but they also finally won the war against Gruumm. Cruger joked that he was going to hang that containment card on a wall in his office – Jack suspected it was more wishful thinking than a joke.

The day after the final showdown outside the base, Commander Cruger called Jack into his office.

_I think it's time we discussed your leaving, Jack._

It was simple: Jack wanted to move on to other things; Cruger felt he should let him go – after all, Jack had served his purpose in the war. With the A-Squad officially gone for good, teams would be elevated; he could find a replacement among the highest-ranked cadets.

_You are free to go any time you want, cadet. Just turn in your badge and morpher._

It was with barely any hesitation that Jack handed the two items to his Commander. He immediately felt liberated, as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders.

_When are you going to inform your team of your departure, Jack?_

Jack has never been good with goodbyes, mostly because living on the streets, he usually kept to himself and therefore never had a lot of people to say goodbye to. On the streets, people vanished suddenly, like that, without a trace; it was an occurence people were used to. On the streets, people didn't usually bother with goodbyes; however, at SPD, they did. At least, his teammates – no, _friends_, he corrected mentally – did.

_Very well, then. Shall I let them know where to find you?_

Jack himself wasn't even sure where he was going. Ally had told him there was a place for him in the charity department of Samuels Clothing, if he wanted it – he wasn't sure. Maybe he would take the job, do a bit of work there until he found something else. From this very moment on, he was free to do what he wanted, but if he was going to go back to the streets, at least he would put the skills and knowledge he had acquired at SPD to good use.

_Thank you. And, Jack? They are at dinner right now._

He was going to go straight to his room, call Ally, pack up his things and leave. Hopefully the others would still be at dinner by then.

As he left Cruger's office, Jack stared wistfully at the closed doors. It might not have been _his_ place, but he was going to miss it.


End file.
